


Maya Dursley and the Philosopher's Stone

by Spexis



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29520180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spexis/pseuds/Spexis
Summary: Tag along with Harry Potter and his cousin Maya Dursley as they begin their Hogwarts adventures. They are in different Houses and soon find themselves making different friends, and most of all following different paths.





	1. The Beginning

They would never say it out loud, but Vernon and Petunia Dursley would have liked their daughter Maya to be a little more normal like them. They longed for a daughter who was well liked by everyone, who got invited to birthday parties and who brought her friends home, but Maya Dursley did none of the sort. She did not care much for social interaction, and always had a rather cold and distant expression on her face. She was not very outgoing either, preferring to stay in the quiet of her home and read books. Not that the situation on 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, could be considered normal in the first place with her cousin Harry Potter sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs. Harry was about five weeks younger than she was and he was put on their doorstep when he was a mere one year old, because his parents had died. Maya’s parents had reluctantly taken him in, but did not consider him as their own, and it would be an understatement to say that Maya received preferential treatment. Vernon and Petunia initially could not be happier with their daughter, showering her with love and gifts, but they could not entirely turn a blind eye to the weird stuff that she, and also Harry, occasionally made happen. At school, a teacher’s wig turned blue after he had given Harry a low grade for show and tell, and another teacher’s car had miraculously ended up on the roof of the school even though Maya was sure she had only softly kicked the car after a particularly tiring day of school. Maya and Harry had a bit of a complicated relationship. Maya never cared much for Harry or his predicament in her household; she did not feel sympathy for other people as long as her own situation was good. Harry did not like Maya much either, it was not like she bullied him a lot, but he found her spoiled and no fun to be around. At school they sometimes sat together, as neither of them had any friends there, but their relationship was mainly one of tolerance and not much more. Things got a little better for Harry after his uncle moved out of the house, though. Gone were the physical punishments and he also got a real room, rather than his cupboard.

Maya remembered the day of her father’s departure well enough. Almost minute by minute. It was a movie that would sometimes play through her head, no matter how hard she would try to suppress it. Ten-year-old Maya was playing in the back garden, as carefree as a child can be. She always liked creating things, and on that sunny afternoon, just before dinner time, she had made three small doves out of sand. She was just perfecting their wings when her father came walking out the backdoor. ‘Maya, dinner time’ he called. ‘Okay, daddy’ Maya said, and then without thinking, she looked at her doves and clapped her hands. The three doves came to life, spread their wings and flew off. Maya smiled and got up, but her smile disappeared immediately upon seeing the look on her father’s face. It was a mixture of shock, fear and anger and then his face became purple. He then rushed over to her, grabbed her arm and violently dragged her inside. ‘Daddy, what…!’ she squealed. ‘PETUNIA!’ he bellowed when they had arrived in the kitchen, where Petunia was just getting ready to serve dinner. ‘What’s…’ she started, but then Vernon exploded. ‘OUR DAUGHTER’S A FREAK! SHE GOT IT FROM YOUR… FROM YOUR SISTER!’ Maya softly started crying; she hated it when people screamed and her father was still squeezing her arm. ‘Please, Vernon, we can talk about this…’ Petunia pleaded but it was no use; that same evening Vernon packed a suitcase and left to live with his sister, until he would find a place of his own. Maya watched how he threw his belongings in the back of the car and subsequently drove off. She kept looking until the car was fully out of sight. Petunia, who also had tears in her eyes, put her arms around her daughter’s shoulders. ‘I-I’m so very sorry, mama… I know it’s my fault, I try so hard to be normal… I-I promise…’ ‘It’s okay, sweetie’ Petunia said with a trembling voice, hugging her crying daughter. It was the last time Maya saw her father, and soon the feelings of guilt made way for feelings of pure anger. Vernon had the decency to at least support his ex-wife financially, but he never bothered to write a letter or reach out in any other way, and as far as Maya was concerned she no longer had a father.

A few months after that event, on June 23rd, 1991, Maya turned eleven. She had hazel eyes, was rather short and skinny and her long brown hair fell to her waist. She was extremely intelligent, zealous and always eager for new knowledge, but she was very indifferent towards other people. Maya was not terribly excited when she woke up that day, though. Petunia would take her and Harry to the zoo, because she thought it would be good for Maya to have a day out. In other years, on days like this, Vernon and Petunia would drop Harry at Mrs Figg’s, an elderly lady who lived across the street, but ever since Vernon had left Petunia had become a bit nicer to Harry, albeit she still did not give him much attention. Maya yawned, got out of bed, took a quick shower and then put on the dark green dress that her mother had bought her for this occasion. She did not care much about fashion, or this occasion, but she did not want to be inconsiderate towards her mother and also she liked dark green. In the hall she encountered Harry. ‘Happy birthday’ he said half-heartedly. ‘Thank you’ she said, also without a lot of emotion. They walked down the stairs and into the living room. The first thing Maya noticed was that there were only a handful of presents on the table, as opposed to the big piles of previous years. She never really cared all that much for material possessions, but it was another reminder of what had happened within the family. ‘Happy birthday, dear’ Petunia said when her daughter entered the living room, and she kissed her on the cheek. Maya forced a smile; she knew her mother meant well. ‘I know it’s not much, but…’ her mother said, pointing at the presents. Harry inadvertently rolled his eyes, he never got any presents. ‘It’s okay, mum, thank you’ Maya said, still smiling. While Harry made breakfast, she opened her presents, to her own surprise feeling a little sad when she was done so quickly, but trying her very hardest not to show it.

It was crowded at the zoo, as it was a sunny Sunday afternoon. The first few minutes Maya found it a little difficult to see happy families including a father, but then she realised that it was her birthday and that she was supposed to have fun. And she had, much more than she thought she would. The aquarium was breathtaking, there was fish of all colours swimming amongst the most beautiful coral, and also the majestic lions did not disappoint. Even though Maya had really liked the aquarium, she was generally more drawn to dangerous animals, and when they set foot in the reptile house she quickly found the largest snake. It was a boa constrictor from Brazil and its size was very impressive. It was sleeping and Maya considered rapping the glass to try and wake it up, but she liked the animal too much. She had always liked snakes, with the way they moved and their really beautiful colours. They were also very powerful creatures. After about a minute, Petunia walked to the next enclosure and Maya followed at first, until she saw her cousin had not moved an inch. ‘Are you coming, Harry?’ she asked. ‘In a minute’ Harry said. ‘Okay’ Maya said, but instead of following her mother, she walked over to the enclosure on the opposite side of the boa’s. Harry inadvertently started mumbling to the snake. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if you had died in there out of sheer boredom…’ he muttered and to his shock the snake promptly woke up and blinked at him. ‘Can you hear me?’ Harry asked flabbergasted. ‘It’s just… I’ve never talked to a snake before.’ 

Unbeknownst to Harry, Maya had been following his conversation with extreme interest. She had turned around as soon as she heard her cousin making hissing noises, and was appalled that the snake seemed to understand him. Not wanting to interrupt the scene, she kept her distance, but made sure that she could see the snake’s every movement. A few moments later, she felt very relieved to have kept her distance, because inexplicably the glass had disappeared and the snake calmly slid out. Harry made one final hissing sound to the creature heading for freedom, and everyone starting screaming and running away. Petunia ran over to her daughter, who said she was okay and who could not stop looking at her cousin.

Back in the car, Maya cast a pensive glance at Harry. She had noticed before that he too would sometimes make things happen, but the fact that he could actually talk to snakes was extraordinary and she was very intrigued if not quite jealous. That evening, she knocked on his bedroom door. ‘What happened at the zoo?’ she asked him the second Harry had opened the door. He sighed. ‘I don’t know, the snake understood what I was saying.’ ‘You were making hissing noises’ Maya said. ‘Hissing noises? No, Maya, I was just speaking like I’m speaking to you now.’ ‘I know what I heard, Harry. You can be honest with me.’ ‘I am being honest with you’ he replied. Maya did not know what to say next. He seemed very genuine. Maybe this was something weird, well it definitely was something weird, but maybe it was something so complex neither of them could even begin to comprehend. ‘And how did the glass disappear?’ Maya asked him. ‘I don’t know either, Maya. The snake told me he had been bred in captivity and wanted to see Brazil, I felt sorry for him and then it happened.’ When Maya went to bed that night, she was quite sure that there was something seriously wrong with both her cousin as herself. If only she would ever find out what… 

A few weeks passed and Petunia enrolled both Maya and Harry at the local state school, Stonewall High. Maya was always destined to go to Smeltings, a prestigious boarding school, but Petunia could no longer afford it. Both children found it a daunting prospect; primary school had not been particularly fun to them, but now they would be at the bottom of the pile again. One morning in July, Maya was told to get the post. She rolled her eyes, when her father was still around it was always Harry who had to do chores like that, but she did go anyway. On the doormat she found two identical letters, one for Harry and one for herself. On the back of the envelope was a crest with a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle around a big H. Maya slowly walked back to the kitchen, intrigued by the letters. ‘Harry and I got these weird letters, mum’ she said cluelessly. She showed them to her mother, who gasped, and then tried to give Harry his letter, but her mother came running over and snatched both letters. ‘Oi, what…’ Maya started, but her mother stared at the letters completely shell-shocked, then started muttering. ‘What... I knew that he… but you... it actually…’ she rambled. ‘Are you going to finish any of those sentences, mum?’ Maya asked, trying to snatch the letters back, but her mother held them up, out of her reach. ‘Get out…’ her mother muttered. ‘What, why…’ Maya began, but then her mother suddenly exploded. ‘GET OUT NOW, BOTH OF YOU! NOW!’ This shocked both children, who quickly ran out of the room. Pretty much every time there had been screaming in 4 Privet Drive, it had been caused by Vernon, so this was a rare occurrence to them. ‘What were those letters?’ Harry asked immediately when they had made their way upstairs. ‘I don’t know, I hadn’t opened them yet. I just know that we each got one and that there was some kind of crest on the envelope. Maybe it’s some kind of school, but that wouldn’t explain my mother’s somewhat odd reaction’ Maya said. ‘You should’ve opened them in the hallway’ Harry said. Maya rolled her eyes. ‘If you’d been there to tell me that, I’d gladly have done so.’

The next couple of days more letters arrived, but neither Maya nor Harry managed to get hold of one. Maya realised that the sender must be aware of the fact that they were not getting them, and wondered if they were being watched. She, however, could not figure out why her mother acted in such a bizarre and terrified way. 

Tuesday, July 30, 1991 started out ordinarily enough, with the three of them having breakfast. ‘What’d you say to a girls’ movie night, sweetie?’ Petunia asked Maya, who looked up from her cereal. Maya figured that her mother felt guilty towards her about the letters, but did not want to make it too easy for her. ‘I don’t know’ she mumbled. ‘It’ll be…’ Petunia started, but her words were drowned by a sudden outburst of noise. It was a rumbling sound that gradually became louder, until they realised that it was coming from the chimney. Next moment, the living room was bombarded by hundreds of letters. Petunia could do nothing more than screaming, while Maya and Harry jumped up from their chairs and immediately caught a letter. They then quickly started to walk away, until Maya noticed that her mother was not trying to stop them. Petunia just stood there shell-shocked for a few moments, and then spoke. ‘All right. I give up. Go read your letters’ she mumbled in a defeatist tone. They did not need to be told twice; it took them about a second to tear the envelope open. ‘Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?’ Maya asked perplexed; she had finished reading faster than Harry had. ‘Yes, dear. My sister, your aunt, his’ (she looked at Harry) ‘mother went there. It’s a school for people who can do magic.’ ‘Magic?’ Maya and Harry asked simultaneously. ‘Yes, those inexplicable things you both made happen sometimes are done by magic,’ Petunia said wearily and in a very uncomfortable state, ‘we knew you’ (she again cast a glance at Harry) ‘had powers, but apparently my own daughter now has too…’ She sat down and gasped for breath. ‘You knew? And you never told me, er, I mean us?’ Harry asked angrily. ‘Of course we knew. Why do you think your father’ (she looked at Maya) ‘left us? He absolutely cannot handle this… this freakiness.’ Maya did not feel like responding to this and instead asked straight up what she wanted to know. ‘So, Harry and I can go then?’ Petunia sighed. ‘I don’t know…’ Maya rolled her eyes. ‘You do realise that if you don’t let me go, it means that my father has left for literally nothing? This is my destiny.’


	2. Diagon Alley

Next morning it was Harry’s eleventh birthday. Maya had not bothered to get him a present, but he did not care. The fact that they had been allowed to go to Hogwarts was all he cared about that day. He just wondered how they were supposed to let the school know that they would attend, and where they would get their books and equipment. It was about 9 AM when the house was made to shake by loud banging on the door. Maya and Harry looked at each other and Petunia went to answer the door. ‘Hello, I’m Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts’ a thunderous voice said, and both children immediately made their way to the hallway, where they came face to face with a giant man with a wild beard. ‘Ah, there yeh are Harry, las’ time I saw yeh, yeh was only a baby. Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh’ve got yer mum’s eyes’ the giant man said with a smile, completely ignoring Petunia, who had inadvertently stepped aside and was now leaning against the wall. The man stepped inside and very carefully closed the door behind him. Everyone was too surprised to say anything, so Hagrid spoke again. ‘Happy birthday to yeh, Harry! Got summat fer yeh.’ He handed Harry a box, then looked at Petunia. ‘Can we sit down somewhere?’ Petunia pointed at the living room with a trembling finger, too scared to say anything. ‘Thanks’ Hagrid said and everyone walked into the living room. There Harry opened the box and found that it contained a cake with Happee Birthdae Harry written on it. ‘Thank you,’ he said happily, while Hagrid sat down on the couch (it barely held his weight), ‘but, who are you exactly?’ ‘Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts,’ Hagrid repeated, ‘o’ course you and Maya here know all about Hogwarts.’ This was the first time he acknowledged Maya, but he addressed Harry with considerably more friendliness. ‘Sorry, sir, not really. Harry and I just know that it’s a school for magic and that Harry’s mother attended it. That’s literally all we know’ Maya said carefully. Hagrid’s eyes flashed into Petunia’s direction, who was nervously standing in a corner of the room. ‘They’re allowed to go, they’ve read their letters, you can explain everything’ she muttered. Hagrid sighed. ‘Harry, Maya, yeh are a wizard and witch. Harry’s parents were a wizard and a witch too, and some of the finest I’ve ever seen. I’ll never forget the day they were murdered.’ He pulled out a handkerchief, but Harry angrily looked at his aunt. ‘Murdered? You told me they died in a car crash!’ Petunia said nothing, but Hagrid jumped to his feet. ‘A car crash? Lily and James Potter died in a car crash?! This is an outrage!’ he bellowed. ‘I had to tell something’ Petunia mumbled. ‘Unbelievable’ Hagrid said furiously. ‘Who murdered my parents?’ Harry asked, but Hagrid shook his head. ‘I’m not sure if I’m the right person to tell yeh, Harry. Well, we’d better be off, gotta buy yer school supplies, come you two’ he said and he abruptly got up.

Once outside, Hagrid kept mumbling irritably. ‘Can’t believe it… yeh never knew. Those Dursleys…’ But then he realised that Maya was uncomfortably following Harry and him and thus he dropped the subject. They walked to the little subway station, and quickly found themselves in the centre of London, where they started walking down a busy shopping street. ‘All right, so, what do you need?’ Hagrid asked Harry, still not giving Maya much attention. Harry took out his list. ‘First year students will require: three sets of plain work robes (black), one plain pointed hat, one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar), one winter cloak, a wand, a pewter cauldron, one set of glass or crystal phials, one telescope, one set brass scales and a whole list of books’ Harry read aloud. ‘Can we find all this in London?’ Maya asked from behind them. ‘If you know where to go’ Hagrid said without looking back.

‘Here we are. The Leaky Cauldron. A famous pub, and the gateway to Diagon Alley, where we’ll buy yer supplies. Now, don’t be shy’ Hagrid said, motioning for them to enter. Maya noticed that nobody else seemed to see the pub, but before she could dwell on that thought Hagrid softly ushered her inside, after her cousin. There were merely a few people inside, who all seemed to know Hagrid; they merrily waved at him. ‘Hi, Hagrid! The usual, I presume?’ the barman asked. ‘Not today, Tom. I’m on official Hogwarts duty today,’ Hagrid said proudly, ‘just helping young Harry Potter and his cousin here buy their school supplies.’ The lively chatter in the pub faded immediately, and everyone gathered around them; Maya found herself carefully and gently pushed aside by the adult wizards and witches. ‘Bless my soul! Harry Potter, what an honour!’ the barman said, shaking his hand. ‘Welcome back to our world!’ a witch said happily. Hagrid was beaming, Harry was shocked and Maya was somewhat jealous of the attention he got. It took about ten minutes before they could leave; people kept shaking hands with Harry and telling him how happy they were to see him. Then Hagrid led the children to a backdoor, through which they found themselves on a very small courtyard with a brick wall. ‘See, Harry, you’re famous!’ Hagrid said excitedly. ‘But why? How come everyone knows my name?’ Harry asked bemused. And how come nobody knows my name? Maya thought. She wanted to be famous too. Hagrid sighed. ‘All right. I’ll tell yeh after we got yer supplies. Yeh cannot go to school without knowing.’ He then got out a pink umbrella and tapped some bricks. The blocks magically shifted and revealed a long street filled with shops and people. ‘Welcome to Diagon Alley!’ Hagrid said happily.

Maya and Harry had never seen anything like it. There were shops selling broomsticks, quills, owls and other animals, books, robes, wands and much more. Especially the broomstick shop drew quite the crowd. The street was absolutely fascinating and the first real taste the two children got of the wizarding world. Only now was Maya one hundred per cent convinced that all this was real and not some kind of prank. There was only one problem. ‘Hagrid,’ she asked, ‘how are Harry and I to pay for all this? We don’t have a lot of money, especially now that my father is no longer around.’ Hagrid gave her a surprised look. ‘What happened to him?’ he asked. ‘Well, he left us after he found out that I could do magic’ Maya said sheepishly. ‘Oh…’ was all Hagrid said, but after that his attitude towards her softened a lot.

Maya’s question was answered when they got to Gringotts, the wizarding world’s bank. ‘Yeh don’t think yer parents left you with nothing, eh?’ Hagrid asked Harry, before turning to Maya. ‘And don’t you worry either, Maya, Hogwarts has special funds for those who don’t have… well, yeh get it.’ She nodded. One could exchange Muggle money for wizarding money, but that was not much help to her either right now. When they entered the big, white building, Maya and Harry immediately spotted creatures they had never seen before. They were short, had long fingers and feet and a pointed nose and ears. They did not make a particularly friendly impression on the children, and sure enough Hagrid said: ‘Goblins. Very intelligent, but not very friendly creatures. Better stick close to me.’ They walked through the hall, in which about a hundred goblins were working behind counters and then the trio made their way to the main counter. ‘Morning,’ Hagrid said, ‘we’ve come ter take some money outta Mr Harry Potter’s vault, as well as the Hogwarts vault.’ The goblin leaned forward to see the children better. ‘And do you and Mr Harry Potter have their keys?’ the goblin asked coldly. ‘Oh. Yes, should have them here somewhere.’ Hagrid rummaged in his pockets and finally found both keys. ‘There’s something else’ he said then, discreetly handing the goblin a letter. ‘It’s about you-know-what in vault you-know-which.’ The goblin nodded. ‘Very well.’

Another goblin led them through a door, where they descended to the depth caverns. They all climbed in a cart and it sped off on little railway tracks. Plenty of vaults passed them by, and at one point they even crossed a lake. The cart then slowed down and ultimately came to a halt. They found themselves in front of a row of vaults, and the goblin that accompanied them opened the biggest of the bunch. Inside the vault was an immense amount of gold coins, stacked up and almost reaching the ceiling. The vault barely had enough room to contain all of it. Harry gasped. ‘All yours’ Hagrid said, patting Harry on the shoulder. Maya’s mouth fell open; she did not even know what to say. Then a very strong feeling of envy came over her, but she did not want to show it; she tried to make a face expression of benign interest while Hagrid and Harry filled a bag with coins. After that, they went to the Hogwarts vault, where Hagrid helped her fill a much smaller bag with the same type of gold coins. Finally, they went even deeper underground to a vault bearing number 713. It had a huge door, that the goblin opened for them. To the children’s surprise, the vault appeared to be empty, apart from a very small package on the floor, which Hagrid quickly grabbed. ‘Best not to mention this to anyone’ he told Harry and Maya. They nodded.

It felt good to be outside again after that. They first bought their uniforms; Maya liked the black robes a lot even though she had to get hers second-hand. She felt a strange but pleasant sensation of power when she saw herself in the mirror wearing them. After that they got their school books, where she had to get even third-hand copies. She again felt envious of Harry when he purchased eight brand new books, but quickly pushed that sentiment aside. This was supposed to be a special day after all, and even though her books obviously looked very shabby in comparison to Harry’s, she knew that ultimately it was about the content. After buying their potion ingredients, all that was left on the list were wands. Both Maya and Harry had been most excited about that. When they got to the wand shop, called Ollivanders, Hagrid told them to go inside while he would do something real quick. The shop was dark and there were shelves of boxes, which Maya assumed to contain wands. ‘Hello?’ Harry called and a man appeared. He was fairly old and had a friendly demeanour. ‘Ah, yes, I was already expecting you, Mr Potter’ he said softly. He just nodded at Maya, who again experienced how her cousin was famous and how nobody knew her. ‘It seems only yesterday that your parents came to buy their wands. Well then, try this one.’ He handed Harry a wand, after which the boy looked at him dumbfounded. ‘Well, go on then, give it a wave’ Mr Ollivander urged him, and so he did, but as a result a lot of boxes came crashing down from their shelves. ‘No, not that one’ the wandmaker said unfazed, while Harry had inadvertently taken a step back in fright. After a few more disastrous wands, Mr Ollivander carefully selected another one. ‘I wonder… maybe this one…’ he mumbled to himself. As soon as he handed the wand to Harry, the boy felt it was right. He felt a warmth in his fingers and when he gave it a wave golden stars shot out of it. ‘Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. But… very curious,’ Mr Ollivander said slowly, ‘very curious indeed.’ ‘Sorry, but what’s curious?’ Harry inquired. ‘I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr Potter. Every one of them. The phoenix, whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave only one other feather. One. And it just so happens that its brother gave you that scar. It’s very curious that you should be destined for this wand, but the wand chooses the wizard, Mr Potter, always remember that. We can expect great things from you, because, after all, He Who Must Not be Named did great things, terrible, yes, but great.’ Somewhat bewildered, Harry stepped back to allow his cousin to buy her wand.

‘Hello, sir’ Maya said carefully. ‘Hello, who might you be?’ the wandmaker asked politely. ‘Er, Maya Dursley, I’m Harry’s cousin’ she said. ‘Dursley…’ the man muttered, ‘never had anyone with that name before.’ Maya decided not to respond, careful not to say something stupid. The first wand Mr Ollivander gave her was terrible; after a flick two glass windows shattered. ‘Sorry!’ Maya said quickly, handing him the wand, but again Mr Ollivander did not seem to mind. ‘Risk of the job’ he said with a smile. The second wand, however, was simply it. ‘A yew wand, salamander bone, nine inches, rigid. The wands of yew endow their possessors with the power of life and death, and retain a particularly dark and fearsome reputation in the spheres of duelling and curses’ the wandmaker explained. A wand that excelled in duelling and curses? Maya liked that a lot, no, she loved it. As soon as she held the wand in her fingers, she felt a powerful sensation coming over her as if she was glowing. It was like something was running through her veins and that she could conquer the world. She smiled, but was interrupted by knocking on the window, the only one that had not broken. ‘Harry! Happy birthday!’ Hagrid said happily, carrying a snowy owl in a golden cage. Harry gasped in delight, but Maya could not help rolling her eyes.

Before Hagrid would take the children home, they went for a drink in the Leaky Cauldron. They sat at a table, but neither Maya nor Harry said much. This day had made quite the impression on them; they were very excited, but somewhat tired, and Maya was still not over the fact that Harry was rich and famous. He, meanwhile, wondered about his parents and his new wand. ‘He killed my parents, didn’t he?’ Harry asked carefully, ‘the one who gave me this.’ He pointed at his scar. Hagrid sighed. ‘You promised me to tell me after we got our supplies, Hagrid’ Harry said. ‘All right, Harry. Yeh see, not all wizards are good. Some are bad. A few years ago one of them went as bad as yeh can go. His name was V-… Voldemort.’ ‘Voldemort?’ ‘Shh! Don’t say that out loud! It scares people’ Hagrid hissed. ‘It was dark times, Harry. Yeh didn’t know who yer could trust. Voldemort became more powerful by the day and he gathered a large following, but yer parents fought against him. One night he came to their house and…’ Hagrid pulled out a handkerchief, ‘murdered them. Then he tried to kill yeh. That’s no ordinary cut on yer forehead, Harry. That cut is the result of a very dark curse. But he couldn’t kill yeh, something about yeh stumped him that night. That’s why yer famous. That’s why everyone knows yer name. Yer the boy who lived, Harry.’ Harry and Maya had listened breathlessly to this. Maya looked at Harry with her mouth slightly ajar. She did not care much about his parents’ untimely demise, or that that was the reason for Harry’s fame and wealth, but just wondered if he had extreme powers. ‘What happened to him?’ Harry asked. ‘Some say he died. Codswallop in my opinion. I reckon he’s still out there, somewhere, trying to regain his powers’ Hagrid said. Harry said nothing, but he had a lot to think about when they went back home.


	3. Trip to Hogwarts

In the month of August, Maya managed to read all of her school books from cover to cover, except for some parts in her History of Magic book; that was mind-numbingly boring to her. She also was not particularly interested in Herbology. She much preferred reading about Transfiguration, Charms and curses – actual magic. She would ask Harry’s opinion on certain things, until she realised that he could not keep up with her processing speed. On August 31, Maya went down to the kitchen that evening to get a drink. Harry and she would leave for Hogwarts next morning and they were terribly excited, albeit a bit nervous, at least Maya was. She found her mother sitting at the kitchen table, looking lost in thought. ‘Tomorrow you’ll be gone…’ Petunia muttered. ‘Yup’ Maya said indifferently, grabbing a glass. ‘I can’t believe this is happening… I wasn’t happy with this, but you got my full support’ Petunia said softly, looking up at her daughter. ‘Thanks, mum’ Maya said, not quite sure how to react to this random display of affection. ‘Maya, sweetie, can you promise me one thing?’ Petunia then asked, with tears welling up in her eyes. Maya sat down opposite to her mother. ‘I know the wizarding world can be a dangerous one. I have proof of that. Please promise me that you’ll become the best witch you can be, and that you’ll never get involved in dangerous activities’ her mother whispered. ‘I promise’ Maya said, looking at her mother curiously. ‘And I promise I’ll be proud of you’ her mother said, smiling through her tears and walking over to Maya for a hug. She did not protest.

Next morning Maya woke up very early. She stared at the ceiling for a while, and then went downstairs for breakfast. In the kitchen she encountered Harry. ‘So, the excitement got you too?’ she asked him. ‘Yes, I don’t know where we’re going, but it can’t be worse than here’ Harry said. ‘Gee, thanks’ Maya said. ‘Oh, I didn’t mean…’ Harry started, but Maya cut him short. ‘Don’t worry, I’m just messing with ya. But just saying, I wouldn’t have put you in that cupboard.’ ‘That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’ ‘Yeah, don’t get used to it’ she said, pouring milk over a bowl of cornflakes. They talked about Hogwarts for a while and what they thought it would look like, until Petunia was ready to take them to King’s Cross station. When they had arrived and taken their suitcases out of the boot, Petunia insisted on hugging her daughter once more. ‘I’ll miss you, don’t forget to write me from time to time’ she said, almost crying. ‘Okay, mum’ Maya said impatiently and feeling somewhat embarrassed, trying to break free from her mother’s grip. Petunia then reluctantly got back in the car, not giving Harry the time of day, but he did not care. 

The two cousins then slowly made their way into the station, pushing their trunks. ‘I think your mum wants you to write her some time’ Harry said teasingly. Maya just rolled her eyes and abruptly changed the subject. ‘What’s the platform number?’ she asked. ‘Er, nine and three-quarters’ Harry said, reading from his ticket. ‘Where would that be?’ Maya asked bewildered. ‘Probably between platforms 9 and 10’ Harry said earnestly, earning him an annoyed look from his cousin. ‘I’m fairly certain that it won’t be that simple. Remember how Hagrid had to tap those bricks with his umbrella to open the gate to Diagon Alley?’ ‘Oh, yeah, right’ he said, and sure enough there was nothing special to be seen between platforms 9 and 10. ‘Should I go ask the guard over there?’ he suggested. ‘Good idea, Harry. Hello, sir, could you please tell us how we get to our school of magic? Don’t be so stupid… better look around for other students’ Maya said, trying to hide her anxiety in her annoyance.  
Barely had she spoken those words or a plump woman with red hair accompanied by four boys (among which were twins) and a girl, who were all red-haired too, passed them by. Maya quickly poked Harry and pointed at the group. They all carried trunks like them, and when they heard the woman say the word ‘Muggle’ they knew they were saved. They hastily followed the group. 

‘Percy, you go first’ the woman said, and the oldest boy walked towards the divide between the two platforms only to walk straight through it. ‘Excuse me!’ Harry called. The group of redheads all looked at him. ‘Could you tell us’ (he cast a sideways glance at Maya) ‘how to…’ ‘How to get on to the platform?’ the woman asked kindly. He nodded. ‘Not to worry, dear. All you have to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Best do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous.’ He nodded, and Maya watched how her cousin disappeared through the barrier. ‘Wow’ she said. ‘Would you like to go next, dear?’ the woman asked her kindly. ‘Er, sure, I guess. Thank you very much, madam’ Maya said shyly. The woman gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, and the girl wished her good luck. She took a breath and quickly walked towards the barrier; it seemed very solid, but she was not scared and sure enough within seconds she found herself on a platform with a scarlet steam engine next to it. Hogwarts Express was written on the train. She caught up with Harry (who had just come to realise that in his excitement he had completely forgotten to thank the kind woman) and together they went down the platform to find an empty compartment. 

It was noisy on the platform; it was packed with people, owls hooted and some students on the train were leaning out the windows to talk to their families. Finally, they found an empty compartment, but their trunks were extremely heavy and they had a very hard time lifting them inside. ‘Come on, push it!’ Harry panted, standing inside the train and pulling, with Maya pushing from the platform. ‘I’m… trying’ she groaned. ‘Want a hand?’ a voice said. It was one of the red-haired twins. ‘Yes, please’ the cousins said simultaneously. ‘Fred, come and help!’ the boy called and sure enough his twin brother immediately came over. They took hold of the trunk and Maya leaned forward to help, but they kindly assured her that they had it. They then also lifted Maya’s trunk into the compartment. ‘Thank you’ the cousins said. ‘Anytime. I’m Fred Weasley by the way, and this is my brother George.’ Fred pointed at his brother. ‘I’m Harry Potter, and this is my cousin Maya Dursley’ Harry said, but the twins did not seem to have heard the latter part of his sentence after he had said his own name. ‘Blimey, are you really?’ George asked in awe. Maya again might as well have been invisible. While Harry showed the twins his scar, she gently wrestled herself past him to sit down in the compartment. Then the twins were called by their mother and Harry sat down opposite to his cousin. ‘Must be nice, being famous’ Maya said stiffly. ‘I guess’ Harry said, not really wanting to go deeper into this subject. Maya leaned backwards in her seat so that the back of her head hit the head pillow and closed her eyes briefly, while inhaling through her nose. When she opened her eyes again a few seconds later, Harry spoke. ‘Look Maya, I know we don’t always exactly see eye to eye, but we’re in this together, so let’s support each other at least until we’ve settled in’ he said. Maya said nothing for a few seconds, but then a rare, genuine smile appeared on her face. ‘I got your back, cousin’ she said, and then they fist bumped.

Barely had they withdrawn their hands or they heard knocking on their compartment door, and they looked up to see the youngest of the redheads, a boy their age. ‘Excuse me, do you mind? Everywhere else’s full…’ he asked shyly. The train began moving. ‘No, not at all’ Harry said kindly, making an inviting gesture towards the seat next to him. The boy smiled and sat down. ‘I’m Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley’ he said amicably. ‘I’m Harry, Harry Potter.’ ‘Wow. Do you really have the… the…’ Ron began asking. ‘The what?’ ‘The scar’ Ron blurted out. ‘Oh’ Harry said and he pulled back his fringe to show Ron the lightning scar. ‘Wicked’ Ron said awestruck. ‘And I’m Maya Dursley, pleased to meet you too’ Maya said from the seat opposite to theirs. ‘Oh, hello’ Ron said, quickly casting her a glance before gazing at Harry again. ‘She’s my cousin’ Harry said, but Ron did not respond to that, and so Harry asked him if all of his family were wizards. Ron began telling them that he was the sixth in his family to attend Hogwarts and that he had a lot to live up to and that he got his supplies second-hand. Maya felt glad that she was not the only one who could not afford brand new supplies, but she was not sure whether she liked Ron much; he was only looking at Harry when speaking and did not do any attempts to involve her in the conversation. She gasped when he suddenly took out a fat grey rat from inside his jacket. ‘This is Scabbers, he…’ Ron started, but Maya cut him short. ‘Can you please take that… thing away, that’s disgusting’ she said, trying to move as far away from the rat as possible. ‘Wow, okay, keep your hair on’ Ron said annoyedly and he put Scabbers back in his pocket. To break the tension, Harry began telling Ron how Maya and he had had no idea that they were wizards and that he was famous until Hagrid told them. ‘I bet we’ll be the worst in the class’ Harry sighed, but Ron reassured him that there were always loads of people from Muggle families and that they always learned quick enough. ‘Do you have any idea which house you’ll be in?’ Ron asked, now also looking at Maya. ‘I’d like to be in Slytherin, can’t go wrong with green and snakes’ Maya said earnestly. She had read about the houses in Hogwarts: A History. ‘You think my rat’s disgusting but you like snakes? And all bad wizards have been in Slytherin!’ Ron said quickly. ‘That’s also part of the appeal’ Maya said indifferently. She came to Hogwarts to become as powerful as possible, and felt Slytherin was the best fit for that. ‘Whatever. My entire family’s been in Gryffindor. They won’t let me live it down if I get sorted in Slytherin’ Ron said. ‘You seem to care a great deal about what your family thinks, Ron. Why don’t you just go with the flow, do your best and see how far you get?’ Maya asked him. ‘If only it was that simple’ Ron muttered. ‘It’s that simple, really. Only you make it more complicated’ she said, but Ron did not need to respond because at that moment their door was opened by a smiling, old lady. 

‘Anything off the trolley, dears?’ ‘No thanks, I’m all set’ Ron said, taking out and revealing a lumpy - and in Maya’s opinion a rather disgusting looking - package of sandwiches. ‘No, thank you’ Maya said softly, desperately wanting to try some of what she spotted immediately was wizard food, but she did not have any money. Harry, on the other hand, got up at once, taking out a pile of gold coins from his pocket. ‘We’ll take the lot!’ Ron and Maya watched with amazement how Harry carried all of the trolley sweets into their compartment and dumped them on the only empty seat, the one next to Maya. ‘Help yourselves’ he said immediately upon seeing the envious gazes on Ron and Maya’s faces. ‘Thanks’ they said in unison, and the next hour or so they had a lot of fun discovering the wide variety of sweets, with Ron explaining what they were. Maya was not particularly fond of the Bertie Every-Flavour Beans after she got one tasting of sprouts, but she liked the Chocolate Frogs a lot; they also came with cards featuring famous witches and wizards.

Suddenly a girl appeared in the doorway. She was their age, had bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. ‘Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville’s lost one’ she said. ‘No’ all three of them said. ‘All right’ she said, and then randomly started a monologue about her background and how every spell she attempted had worked. ‘I’m Hermione Granger, by the way’ she concluded. ‘Ron Weasley.’ ‘Maya Dursley.’ ‘Harry Potter.’ ‘Are you really? I know all about you, of course’ Hermione told Harry. She promptly informed him about which books he was in, before she told them they had better change into their robes. Harry and Ron left the compartment for Maya to change, and then she stepped out for them. Maya liked the uniform; now she felt truly part of the entire thing. The train gradually slowed down and ultimately came to a halt. A voice echoed through the train saying that they were supposed to leave their luggage on the train, and then they followed the crowd on to a dark platform. Darkness had fallen and it was chilly. 

‘Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!’ a familiar voice called and Maya and Harry looked up to see Hagrid holding a lamp, beckoning all first years to him. ‘Hello Harry, Maya, everything all right?’ he asked cheerfully. ‘Yes, Hagrid’ Harry said. Ron just said ‘wow!’ when he laid eyes on Hagrid, who after making sure that all first years were there, led them off the platform onto a narrow path. ‘Hogwarts is jus’ round this bend!’ Hagrid called, and sure enough, perched atop a high mountain on the other side of a vast great black lake was a gigantic castle with many towers and windows. It looked simply majestic and the lights were very pretty in the night sky. There was a loud ‘ooooooh!’ from the children; Hagrid gave them about a minute to admire the castle and then pointed to a bunch of little boats. Harry, Maya and Ron were joined by Hermione in their boat and before they knew it they were smoothly gliding across the lake towards the castle. Nobody could take their eyes off of it and if very deep down Maya had some doubts about the whole thing, they were definitely gone now. She was extremely excited and simply could not wait to discover everything the castle had to offer. The boats then took them through a dark tunnel until they arrived at a small harbour. As they clumsily climbed out of their boats, Maya taking Harry’s hand, Hagrid knocked on the castle door. It opened by itself, and Hagrid motioned for them to climb the flight of stairs behind it. ‘Good luck’ he told Maya as she passed, and she wondered what that was supposed to mean, but the answer came quickly.


	4. The Sorting Ceremony

Standing on the landing was a tall witch in emerald-green robes with a very stern face. The students came to a halt before her. ‘Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall. I’m the head of Gryffindor house. In a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you take your seats, you will be sorted into your houses. Your house will be like your family at Hogwarts. Your triumphs will earn you points, while any rule breaking will result in a loss of points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. The Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly, in front of the rest of the school.’ She turned around and walked through the door. The students were quiet, nervous about the ceremony, wondering what it would consist of, but then a voice abruptly broke the silence. ‘It’s true then, what they were saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts!’ a blond, pale-faced boy said. There was mumbling. ‘This is Crabbe and this is Goyle,’ the blond boy said lazily, then walking up to Harry, ‘and I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.’ Ron sniggered, and Draco looked at him haughtily. ‘Think my name’s funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley. You’ll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don’t want to be making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.’ He offered Harry his hand, but Harry did not shake it. Maya was quite intrigued by Draco’s words; she wondered what he meant with some wizarding families being better. Was he talking about wealth? Power? Connections? Blood status? All of those? Harry’s cold answer snapped her out of it. ‘I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks.’ Draco looked like he had been slapped in the face, but the sudden return of Professor McGonagall made it impossible for him to react. ‘Form a line. We’re ready for you now.’ The students nervously obliged, and Maya found herself next to Hermione, who was whispering all the spells she had learned. Maya rolled her eyes. They walked across the hall and then into the Great Hall. There were four long tables, at which sat the rest of the students. There were thousands of floating candles and at the other side of the Hall, opposite to the entrance, was another long table where the teachers were sitting. There appeared to be no ceiling; when Maya looked up she saw the black night sky with stars and she realised at once that it must have been bewitched to look like the sky outside. 

Professor McGonagall led them to the teacher’s table, and then she put a small stool and a patched wizard’s hat in front of them. The hat then burst into song, explaining about the houses and that they had to put it on so it could sort them, and sure enough after the hat had finished Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long roll of parchment. ‘When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted.’ Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones became Hufflepuffs, Terry Boot a Ravenclaw and Millicent Bulstrode the first Slytherin. Vincent Crabbe became a Slytherin too and then… ‘Dursley, Maya!’ Maya took a breath and then walked to the stool. She carefully sat down, and the last thing she saw before Professor McGonagall gently put the hat on her head were about a thousand stares and a very bright Great Hall. She then heard a voice coming from the hat. ‘Interesting. Very interesting. An excellent mind, enormous talent and a desire to prove yourself. You’re cunning and seek power and fame by any means necessary. A lot of bitterness too. Yes, I know just where to put you… SLYTHERIN!’ Maya inadvertently smiled and quickly went to sit next to Millicent. ‘Hi’ she said. ‘Hi’ Millicent said back. Maya then caught Harry’s eye and she gave him a nod of encouragement. She quickly lost interest in the ceremony, instead looking around the Great Hall and only paying attention when Harry and Ron were called (and were both sorted in Gryffindor). 

In the end, her year’s housemates were the girls Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass and the boys Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. In primary school Maya was never very interested in making friends, but at Hogwarts and her being new to magic she really wanted friends, and so as soon as the feast started (which was after the Headmaster, a very old wizard named Dumbledore, had delivered a rather boring but thankfully short speech about the Forbidden Forest being, well, forbidden, no magic allowed between classes and a third-floor corridor out of bounds), she struck up a conversation with her classmates, who all sat together. ‘Are you all from wizarding families?’ she asked innocently, while everyone was stuffing their plates with everything within reach; food had magically appeared on the table. ‘Yes, of course,’ Draco said, casually putting sausages on his plate, ‘I don’t think Muggleborns can even get sorted in Slytherin.’ ‘Well, it just happened to me’ Maya said hesitantly; Draco had said the word ‘Muggleborns’ with an unmistakeable tone of disdain. ‘What? Nobody in your family is magical?’ Pansy butted in. ‘My parents aren’t, but I’m Harry Potter’s cousin’ Maya said, not at all sure how they would respond to that. ‘Ah, famous Harry Potter,’ Draco spat, ‘saw how he didn’t want to be my friend earlier?’ ‘Yes, I did. I actually wonder, what did you mean by ‘the wrong sort’?’ Maya asked him. ‘What did you say your name was?’ Draco asked. ‘Maya Dursley.’ ‘I meant people like you, Maya Dursley. I see your robe is second-hand and you’re Muggleborn. I can’t believe you got in Slytherin, this school is going to the dogs.’ The other first years grinned, apparently they agreed with Draco, who abruptly changed the subject to his own family of Purebloods, apparently a wealthy and famous one. Maya was more affected by his words than she wanted to show, and she just quietly finished her food, which was easy because nobody tried to include her in the conversation anyway. 

Various ghosts came floating through the wall, and one with blank eyes and robes stained with silver blood sat down at the Slytherin table. Maya was curious if every wizarding house had ghosts, but did not dare to say anything more. She looked at the Gryffindor table, where Harry was having an animated conversation with almost the entire Weasley family and some of his new classmates. She suddenly felt a sense of regret that she was not sitting there right now; maybe Slytherin was not for her after all. When the Headmaster stood up again and sent them all to bed, Maya was so lost in doubts that she barely noticed where her feet dragged her; she just followed the green crowd into the dungeons. Only when they came to a halt before what seemed like an ordinary stone wall, did she snap out of it. ‘Behind this wall lies the Slytherin common room’ the girl Prefect said. ‘A password is required to enter it’ the boy Prefect said, before turning to the wall. ‘Viperidae.’ The wall slid open, revealing a passage, and then they found themselves in a basement-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. There were black leather sofas and it was decorated with tapestries featuring famous Slytherins. Its windows looked out into the Black Lake and to Maya the common room had the aura of an underwater shipwreck. Older students wriggled themselves past them towards their dormitories, and when the noise had died away, Maya clearly heard the rather pleasant sound of swishing water. ‘As you may have guessed, the dormitories are that way’ the girl Prefect said, pointing at a hallway off the main chamber. ‘The boys take the stairs to the right, and the girls the stairs to the left’ the boy Prefect added, and so the first years scuttled off. The girls only had to descend one floor, where a small hallway featured five separate rooms with their names on them. Maya’s one was the one furthest from the stairs, but that was fine with her because that meant she only had one neighbour, who turned out to be Millicent. Pansy, Tracey, Daphne and Millicent were chatting happily, but Maya quickly entered her room. The first thing she noticed about it was that it was much bigger than the outside view suggested. There was a four-poster bed covered in green silk hangings and a nightstand. She also had a small wooden desk with chair and a pretty big dresser. Her room had a green carpet and a huge Slytherin crest decorated the wall. The light came from a silver lantern hung from the ceiling, but she also had a small lamp on her nightstand. She also had her own bathroom, with a bathtub and a lot of foam bottles. After seeing her room, Maya felt a lot better, and she happily began unpacking her trunk, that had already been brought inside. She then pulled on her pyjamas and went to bed. It took her a long time to fall asleep; she kept thinking about what Draco had said. Being Muggleborn, she was apparently bottom of the barrel. She felt angry for about thirty minutes, but then vowed to herself that that would never impede her from becoming a very powerful and well-known witch, no matter how hard she would have to proof herself. When she finally fell asleep she dreamed about beating everyone at a duelling tournament, receiving cheers from the audience, with Draco clapping and screaming the loudest.

Next morning at breakfast her classmates still did not give her the time of day. Pansy, also a Pureblood, had quickly established herself as the leader of the girls, and the dirty looks she frequently shot at Maya made it very clear to her that she was not welcome in the clique. She sat down next to Blaise, but he without saying a word promptly moved away, earning him approving looks of Draco and his two slaves, Vincent and Gregory. Maya sighed, looking forward to the actual lessons. She felt really quite prepared having read so much beforehand and was very excited about getting some first-hand experience. ‘Oi, Dursley!’ Draco suddenly called. Maya looked up. ‘Why don’t you sit at the Gryffindor table, with that idiot cousin of yours?’ ‘Why don’t you, you seem rather obsessed by him. Are you still upset that he didn’t want to be friends with you?’ Maya retorted immediately. ‘No, why would I want to be friends with him? I’m much better than him’ Draco sputtered. ‘I don’t know, Draco, but you seem pretty mad for someone who is so much better than everyone’ Maya said calmly. Draco had no comeback, but Pansy glared at her. ‘I’d be careful if I were you, Dursley’ she said threateningly. ‘Until your ugliness proves lethal to others I’ll be fine, Pansy’ Maya said, smiling at her before getting up and walking to her first class, which was Charms with the Hufflepuffs. ‘She handles herself pretty good…’ Draco could not help muttering as they stared after her.


	5. First Classes

The timetable was simple enough. From 6 AM, students were allowed out of their common rooms. Breakfast was from 7:30 till 9. There was a class from 9 till 10:30, then a 15-minute break followed by another class from 10:45 till 12:15. After that it was time for lunch, which lasted till 1. Then the afternoon featured one or two more classes, again with a break in-between, so students were done for the day at either 2:30 or 4:15. Dinner took place between 6 and 7, and the time between the last class and dinner was usually spent in Study Hall, a big room adjacent to the library and thus supervised by the very strict librarian, Madam Irma Prince. Sometimes they had double periods in one subject and first years had to be in their common room by 7:30. The only exception was Astronomy, which they had every Tuesday at midnight on the top of the Astronomy Tower. The timetable also showed where the classrooms were and with whom they had their classes. Maya saw that they had Transfiguration and Potions with the Gryffindors, Charms and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws.

In Charms class, taught by a tiny wizard named Professor Flitwick, Maya was the first student to successfully cast the Wand-Lighting Charm. The third time she had flicked her wand and said ‘Lumos!’ it happened, earning her ten points for Slytherin. Professor Flitwick then told her the counter-charm (Nox), which she also managed to do within seconds, earning her another five points for her house. The Hufflepuffs all looked at her in admiration and to Maya’s enormous satisfaction she saw that even her housemates were impressed; only Pansy rolled her eyes, but not once did she manage to cast the charm and so Professor Flitwick told her to practice some more outside of class. 

After Charms, and an uneventful break that Maya spent alone outside the History of Magic classroom reading the book, they had that class with the Ravenclaws. As Maya had expected from reading through the book, this was an extremely boring class. It was taught by a ghost called Professor Binns, whose teaching method consisted of nothing more than to talk for the entire lesson, while the students took notes. Maya was very relieved when the bell rang, and wondered what there would be for lunch. It was more peaceful than breakfast, because none of her classmates tried to be smart with her again. Her final lesson of the first day was Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, and she figured she would see at least one friendly face there. She arrived there early, sat down on the floor and began reading her A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration. She had already read big portions of it at home, but now it did not make much more sense to her than it did then. Various Gryffindors arrived, but since they did not say anything, she did not say anything either. Harry and Ron still were not there when Professor McGonagall opened the door for them, and Maya went to sit alone in the back, until to her surprise Hermione joined her. ‘Hi’ she said. ‘Hi, Granger. Where are Harry and Weasley?’ Maya asked. ‘Probably got lost’ Hermione said annoyedly. It seemed being late for class was a big sin in her book. For about a minute they talked about which classes they had had so far, but then Professor McGonagall got her class started. ‘Transfiguration is a very complex and potentially dangerous form of magic. I expect from each and every one of you the utmost respect for this subject and no messing around’ she said sternly, and then changed her desk into a goat and back. Everyone was very impressed and Maya wondered how long it would take before she could do that, but figured that that would be a very long time. Professor McGonagall then had them take notes, during which Harry and Ron came dashing in. Hermione rolled her eyes and Professor McGonagall was not exactly pleased either. ‘Should I perhaps transfigure you boys into a pocket watch, so you can be on time?’ she asked sternly. ‘Sorry, we got lost’ Harry mumbled. ‘Then perhaps a map? I trust you don’t need one to find your seats.’ She pointed at two empty seats. Maya could not suppress a smile; she liked Professor McGonagall’s way of dealing with silliness. Then they were all given a match that they had to turn into a needle. 

As Professor McGonagall had said, this was much harder than Charms, and Maya did not manage to turn her match into a needle. Only Hermione managed to make it look silver and pointy, earning her five points for Gryffindor. ‘Well done, Granger’ Maya said, when the bell had rung and they packed their bags. ‘Thank you, Dursley’ Hermione said with a smile. Maya realised that she quite liked Hermione, but also remembered what Draco had said about the wrong sort, and maybe she should not befriend another Muggleborn. She figured she would work that out later; first she was dying to see the library, because she loved books and the knowledge they contained and also because she simply had a History of Magic essay to do. There was only one problem: her timetable did not show where the library was located. She tried asking older students who were either alone or in pairs, but as soon as they saw that she was a Slytherin they just turned away. Then suddenly she saw the oldest Weasley, the one she had seen at King’s Cross and who was a Prefect. Surely it was his duty to help other students? She walked up to him. ‘Hello,’ she said, ‘Weasley, right?’ Percy looked at her and then said in a very pompous manner: ‘Percy Weasley, Prefect, thank you.’ He pointed at his badge, which was however very hard to miss. ‘Er, all right, Percy Weasley, Prefect, could you please tell me where the library is?’ Maya asked. ‘Sure. You know where the Great Hall is from here?’ Maya nodded. ‘All right, so from there head up to the first floor, go left and then you will walk straight into it’ Percy explained. ‘I see, thank you very much’ Maya said, forcing a smile. He must be the weird one in the family she thought as she walked away.

The first few days were really quite exciting. Hogwarts was a vast castle with moving portraits, 142 moving staircases, hidden passageways, ghosts and the poltergeist Peeves, who could be quite a nuisance with his pranks. There was a very bad-tempered caretaker called Argus Filch, who owned a cat (Mrs Norris) that acted like his deputy in his never-ending war against the students and Peeves. Maya enjoyed the lessons, except Herbology; she did not enjoy getting her hands dirty. Also Defence Against the Dark Arts was a bit of a let-down, for Professor Quirrell was constantly stuttering and did not teach anything interesting. Maya had hoped that they would learn fascinating defensive magic with a lot of wand-waving, but nope. And of course History of Magic was pretty boring. By the time Friday rolled around, the only class Maya had not yet had was Potions. She looked forward to it; brewing potions seemed like fun. Also her confidence had grown a lot, since she noticed that she was not far behind the others; in fact, she was among the best in the class in pretty much every subject but Herbology. Her Slytherin classmates still did not pay much attention to her, so she spent a lot of time in the library reading about curses and duelling, the one thing that fascinated her most of all. Double Potions with the Gryffindors was her only lesson on Friday. She had the afternoon off, and she looked forward to the weekend. In weekends, there was no dress code and first years did not have to be in their common room until 8:30 PM as opposed to 7:30 on weekdays. Also she would then have ample time to explore the castle some more. She had already discovered various secret passages and was determined to find more.

Professor Snape, head of Slytherin house, taught Potions in the dungeons. Maya was joined at a table by Millicent, and she was quite glad to see Harry and Ron sit at the table next to hers. The cousins exchanged greetings, but then Professor Snape entered. He had a very intimidating demeanour and the class went quiet immediately. He started by taking the register, and a cynical smile appeared on his face when he read Harry’s name. ‘Harry Potter… our new celebrity’ he said slowly. Draco and his gang sniggered. Snape moved a few inches towards Harry. ‘Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’ he suddenly spat. Hermione immediately raised her hand, but Harry looked dumbfounded. ‘I don’t know, sir’ he mumbled. ‘Let’s try again. Where can you find a bezoar?’ Snape went on. Maya actually knew this, but considering Snape was ignoring Hermione’s hand she did not put up hers too. ‘I don’t know, sir’ Harry said sheepishly. Maya felt sorry for him, but she did neither know a way nor dare to help him. Draco, Vincent and Gregory were laughing. Maya rolled her eyes, she knew for a fact that Vincent and Gregory did not even know how to catch a cold in a snowstorm. ‘Clearly fame isn’t everything, is it, Potter? What a pity’ Snape said nastily, but then Harry stood up for himself. ‘Clearly, Hermione knows. Seems a pity not to ask her' Harry retorted. There were some gasps and Maya’s heart skipped a beat too. ‘For your information, Potter’ Snape said and then he began reciting the answers to the questions he had just asked. ‘And Gryffindors, please note that five points will be taken from your house for your classmate’s cheek’ he concluded. He then put the students in pairs and set them to brewing a potion to cure boils. Maya and Millicent had a great click, and their potion was exactly the colour described in the book. Snape awarded them with five points for Slytherin for their work, and the girls high fived each other, which marked Maya’s first friendly encounter with a fellow Slytherin. ‘How long did you stew your horned slugs for?’ Harry asked his cousin. Maya began giving him instructions, but was cut short by a loud hissing sound at the other side of the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to make Seamus’s cauldron explode, and the stone floor got drenched with their potion. Snape cleared it away with one casual wave of his wand, then proceeded to scold Neville until he was in tears. All in all it had been a memorable first Potions lesson, and as they packed away their stuff Harry poked Maya. ‘Ron and I are going to visit Hagrid this afternoon, would you like to come too? We can catch up a bit’ he said. ‘Sure’ Maya said, before exchanging a friendly goodbye with Millicent. It seemed like the first Slytherin began liking her and it was probably a matter of time before the others would too. 

She had a good mood when she met Harry and Ron at the Entrance Hall around 3. Harry and Maya chatted happily on the way to Hagrid’s cabin, which was located on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The cabin was small, circular and made out of wood. Smoke was coming out of the chimney. Harry knocked. The call was answered by very loud barking and Hagrid’s voice saying: ‘Back, Fang!’ Then his face appeared. ‘Hullo, come in!’ he said. Fang jumped straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Maya thought that was disgusting and was happy that the gigantic boarhound had not chosen to do that with her. Harry introduced Ron to Hagrid and then all three of them told Hagrid about their first week. Hagrid kindly asked Maya if she had made any friends yet. ‘No, my fellow Slytherins don’t like that I’m Muggleborn,’ she said, ‘especially this boy Draco Malfoy would make comments about it.’ Hagrid gave her a comforting smile. ‘Don’t worry about it, Maya. If the Sorting Hat put you in Slytherin, yer a Slytherin, no matter what people say. Some think that because they’re Purebloods, they’re better than everyone else. Codswallop, in the end it’s talent that matters most, and it sounds like you got plenty.’ ‘Thanks, Hagrid’ she said, appreciating his kind words. Harry then told Hagrid about the Potions lesson. ‘…I really think he hates me’ he concluded. Maya would describe her head of house as ‘dead inside’, but wanted to hear Hagrid’s opinion on the subject so she kept quiet. Hagrid just denied Harry’s sentiments, and then they went back to the castle.


	6. Flying Lesson

Next Monday, after her lessons were done for the day, Maya took the book on curses she was reading at the library with her into a secluded classroom she had found that had a closet with pillows. Those were perfect for practicing spells, because nothing actually happened to them when Maya managed to land the spell, except for maybe a small knockback. When she entered she immediately had the feeling that she was not alone, and sure enough she heard crying coming from a corner. Maya carefully peaked over the desks and spotted Hermione sitting there. ‘Oh, hello Granger’ Maya said casually, as if Hermione was not crying. ‘D-Dursley, what are you d-doing here? Nobody really goes in here’ she sobbed. ‘Precisely, so this is a perfect place for me to train my new spells,’ Maya showed Hermione her book, ‘so it’d be nice if you could move.’ Hermione looked up at her, but did not budge. ‘Come on, Granger, you’re just crying, I’m pretty sure you can do that anywhere’ Maya said impatiently, but Hermione buried her face in her arms again. Maya rolled her eyes, walked over to her and sat right next to her on the floor. ‘All right, what’s wrong?’ she asked. ‘N-nobody likes me. They always get mad when I give them advice’ Hermione said with a trembling voice. ‘Then stop giving everyone unsolicited advice? You do come across as a know-it-all if you don’t mind me saying’ Maya said. Hermione started defending herself, saying that she meant well. ‘Look, Granger, you don’t need to argue your case with me. I’m just saying that people would probably like you more if you changed that particular part of your personality. Do with that piece of advice what you want. Would you like to finish that piece of Transfiguration homework together? We’re not friends, but I see you really need one right now’ Maya said, getting to her feet. Hermione nodded, and Maya offered her her hand to help her up. They had a pretty good time doing homework together in that classroom. When they had finished, Hermione looked at her. ‘Thanks Dursley, it’s fun working with you’ she said. ‘Likewise’ Maya said, putting her homework in her bag. ‘How come you don’t seem very close with your fellow Slytherins?’ Hermione then asked. ‘Because I’m Muggleborn. Apparently that makes us bottom of the barrel. But really, Granger, people will always find ways to be jerks. Just don’t give them the satisfaction of knowing how much it affects you’ Maya said, and with that she left the classroom. 

On Thursday, the Slytherins would start their Flying lessons with the Gryffindors. Maya did not really look forward to it; she had a fear of heights. Draco kept boasting about his flying skills, and Pansy and her gang hung to his every word. If only one percent of his stories contained some truth, Maya would drink the next potion Snape told them to make. She walked through the common room on her way to the library, when she overheard Draco saying: ‘It’s silly that first years never get in the Quidditch teams. I’m easily the best player we’ve got, I reckon I could go pro if I wanted to.’ Suddenly he directed his attention at Maya. ‘Dursley! You’ve never been on a broomstick before, have you? I can’t wait to see you try!’ Pansy and her gang sniggered, but Maya just told him that if he could do that, even a monkey could. Nevertheless, she was nervous that day. This did not seem like the sort of thing one could learn from a book. That afternoon she made her way to the smooth lawn between the castle and the Quidditch field. It was a clear, breezy day and she figured that would probably be an advantage. There were twenty broomsticks lying on the ground, and the students all went to stand beside one. ‘Stick out your right hand over your broom and say ‘up!’’ the teacher Madam Hooch called. She did not sound particularly friendly, and her yellow eyes did not have much warmth to them either. The students obliged. The broomsticks of Harry and Draco jumped into their hands at once, but Maya’s would not budge. Draco looked at her with a smile, and Maya began to feel silly. She focused and to her immense relief the broomstick jumped into her hand after the fifth try. Apparently, the trick was to sound calm and confident. When everyone was holding their broomstick and Madam Hooch had made sure that their grips were correct, she faced the class once more. ‘When I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come back down by leaning forwards slightly’ she said, but barely had she finished or Neville rose up. His panic indicated that that was not intentional. The students and Madam Hooch started screaming, the latter very loudly. ‘Get down here, boy!’ But Neville had completely lost control, if he ever had that in the first place, and to the Gryffindors’ horror at about twenty feet he fell off his broomstick and landed on the ground with a thud. He did not move but was whimpering loudly. ‘Everybody out of the way!’ Madam Hooch cried, hurrying over to him. She slowly helped him up. ‘Broken wrist’ she muttered, before turning to the class. ‘I will take this boy to the hospital wing, and none of you is to move. If you touch those brooms you’ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say ‘Quidditch!’. Come on, dear.’ She escorted Neville, who was clutching his wrist, off the lawn into the castle. 

Barely had they disappeared out of sight, or Draco burst into laughter. ‘He can’t even fly, that fat idiot. Did you see his face?’ He imitated Neville’s whimpering, and all the Slytherins but Millicent and Maya joined in on his laughter. Maya thought it was bad taste to laugh at an accident like that and scowled at Draco. She also felt that with her inexperience in this department it might as well have been her now being carried off to the hospital wing. The Gryffindors were furious, but then Draco snatched something out of the grass. ‘Look, it’s that Remembrall!’ he said, holding up a large marble-sized glass ball. It glittered in the sun. ‘Give that here, Malfoy!’ Harry said, stepping forward and holding up his hand. Draco, obviously, did not. A nasty smile appeared on his face. ‘No. I think I’ll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect, how about… the roof?’ And he promptly took off on his broomstick, rising thirty feet into the air, from where he began taunting Harry. ‘What’s the matter, Potter? Fear of heights?’ Harry grabbed his broom, and Maya’s first instinct was to try and stop him, but Hermione beat her to it. ‘No, Harry, you heard what Madam Hooch said! Besides, you don’t even know how to fly!’ Harry ignored her and took off. ‘What an idiot’ Hermione said and Maya wholeheartedly agreed with her. Harry, however, turned out to be a natural. It was like he had been doing this all his life, and even Draco looked shocked. ‘Give it here, Malfoy, or I’ll knock you off that broom!’ they heard Harry scream. ‘Have it your way then’ Malfoy said, apparently not willing to engage in a fight in mid-air. He threw the Remembrall high into the air and went back to the ground. Harry caught speed and managed to catch the Remembrall in spectacular fashion just above the ground, before smoothly landing on the grass. The Gryffindors all cheered and clapped, the Slytherins were in shock and Maya was relieved that he was not hurt. Suddenly they noticed Professor McGonagall running towards them. ‘HARRY POTTER!’ she called from afar. Harry dejectedly followed her inside the castle. Draco, Vincent, Gregory and Pansy snickered in delight. Maya was furious with them. Draco’s little stunt probably got Harry expelled, and sure it annoyed Maya that he was famous but he was still her cousin and her only friend at school. She wondered if she should follow Professor McGonagall to explain what happened, but she hesitated for too long and then it was too late. Maya just wished she would get an opportunity to use some of the curses she had learned on Draco, who was extremely pleased with himself. It also seemed that he had read her thoughts, because when class was over and they all went back to the castle he nastily told her: ‘Will you miss your idiot cousin, Dursley? I hope you’re next!’ Maya reached for her wand, but changed her mind at the last second; Harry had felt first-hand what could happen if you let Draco provoke you too much.

The news spread through the school like wildfire: Harry had been made Gryffindor’s new Seeker. Maya was very relieved that he had not been expelled, but felt that this was a bit too much. Why did all the good things happen to him? She felt quite annoyed, but still went down to the Gryffindor table at dinner to congratulate him. ‘Thanks, Maya,’ Harry said happily, ignoring his apple pie for a moment, ‘you know, it’s really thanks to Malfoy that I became the youngest house player in a century.’ ‘Speak of the devil’ Ron said, and sure enough Draco appeared, flanked by Vincent and Gregory. He lazily pushed Maya aside to face Harry. ‘How about a wizard’s duel, Potter? One on one, at midnight in the trophy room’ he said angrily. Apparently he was not too pleased with Harry’s success either. Maya witnessed how Harry accepted the challenge, but she knew she now had a chance to face Draco herself.

At half past eleven Maya quietly left her room to wait in the common room. By taking on Draco she would kill two birds in one stone. She could give him what he deserved and also make sure that Harry would not get hurt. She did not doubt that he was a decent wizard, but she was sure that he lacked the bloodthirst for a duel like this. She sat down and waited, and sure enough a few minutes later Draco and his two friends appeared. ‘Dursley, what are you doing here? Want to come and see me tear your cousin a new one?’ he sneered at her. Maya got up and faced him. The anger that was running through her veins was hard to control. ‘No, Draco. You and I are going to duel. Right here, right now’ she said calmly but fiercely. Draco did not say anything for a few seconds, but then burst into laughter. Vincent and Gregory stupidly joined in. ‘A Muggleborn girl like you versus me? Thanks for the laugh, Dursley, but now we gotta go’ he said and he moved towards the entrance wall. Quick as a flash, Maya grabbed her wand from her robe and screamed: ‘Flipendo!’ With a loud bang, Draco got hit in the chest and flew backwards, crashing into one of the black sofas. He tried to grab his wand to defend himself, but Maya did not relinquish control. She casually said ‘Expelliarmus’ as soon as his fingertips reached his wand, and it flew out of his reach. The adrenaline rush she felt was addicting, and she closed in on Draco. ‘Are you going to tell your father how you got beaten by a Muggleborn girl, Draco Malfoy?’ she sneered at him. Vincent and Gregory approached her with clenched fists, and Maya held her wand up again, but then Draco started speaking. ‘Guys, don’t. She won.’ He climbed up, and Maya pointed her wand at him while maintaining distance between her and the boys. ‘You know, Dursley, I might’ve been wrong about you. You’re an excellent duellist’ he said calmly. Maya had not exactly expected this reaction, but was curious to hear him out so she did not interrupt him. ‘That power you put into that knockback was unreal. You should hang with us from now on’ he said. ‘All right, I will. But let’s all go back to bed now, I think you did enough duelling for a night’ Maya said, and he obeyed, taking his friends with him. Maya stayed in the common room for a few more minutes, smiling to herself and looking at her wand.

From then on, Draco and Maya were friends. They sat next to each other in class and did homework together. They agreed not to tell anyone about their duel. Draco told her some more about his family’s background and about the wizarding world in general. Maya’s relationship with Harry suffered quite a bit from this friendship, but she did not care. He had his own friends, like Ron with whom Maya never really got along anyway, and now she did too. She did not need him anymore. Millicent sometimes joined them as well, but Pansy, Tracey and Daphne did not like it one bit that Draco and Maya were now besties. They were probably jealous and Maya loved it. She felt powerful in her new clique and saw this as a new era in her Hogwarts career. Even the fact that Harry was casually given a Nimbus Two Thousand, an extremely good broomstick, did not spoil her mood.


End file.
